Simple Christmas Cards

I had to go 'simple' on my cards this year because I'm in the midst of moving and have to pack up all non-essentials. I ended up using many premade embellishments and stickers, things I've been hanging onto for years. It actually felt good to finally use up some of my stash.





The card above was copied from the cover of Paper Crafts Magazine.










I love the non-traditional color combo of the card above.

A New Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Joins the Ranks!

...but it's not me.

Yay to Krissy, one of my besties and the artist behind Paper Creations By Krissy. She recently signed up to be an SU demo. And it's about time! She and I have been obsessed with SU products for about 3 or 4 years now so at least one of us should be a demonstrator by now. Ha!

Anyway, check out her blog and prepare to be amazed by the clever mini books and cards and decor items and general paper fabness that she makes. AND if you want to order any SU products, click here to buy them from her store.

Congrats Krissy and best wishes to you in your new role as Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Cards give me happies.

I love to make em' and I love to send em'. To me, getting an unexpected card in the mail is like a hug. And they are such immediate gratification for those impatient crafters (like me) or those new to the hobby. Cards are small and quick to decorate. This makes them the perfect introduction to paper crafting. Give it a try!

Lookee what I made....gobble gobble!

I found the idea here at The Cottage Home and thought it looked easy enough. For once I was right!!!

The only place I deviated from the original instructions is where I didn't use any pattern. After applying the Heat-n-Bond to my selections of fabric, I folded the fabric over and free-hand cut two feathers at once. Actually, since I'm too lazy to cut out a bunch of feathers one at a time I wanted all my feathers to be the same size, I cut through 3 doubled-over fabric pieces at a time. Fabric scissors are hella sharp! I wouldn't recommend folding the fabric so that the Heat-n-Bond is on the inside though...I had the worst time pulling the resulting two feathers apart.



Then, after arranging the feathers into a turkey-ish fan, I ironed them to the onsie.



Then I free-hand cut a turkey body out of felt, pinned it to the onsie, ran some stitches around, then did the same around each feather. I finished the turkey's face with embroidery thread and needle.



Then I went and found the cutest little model this side of the Mason Dixon line. Which was pretty easy since she lives here in this house with me!

Bead-Tastic!

I made these as embellishments for scrapbook layouts or cards. Lovin' the sparkly stuff!

More Fun Chipboard Monograms

That's what I'm calling the 8" chipboard letters that I've decorated only because I can't think of a better name for them.

Some Winter/Christmas Layouts

Christmas Card

Kitchen Re-Mod

In 2007 we gave our sad frumpy kitchen a facelift. You might say we nipped, tucked and botoxed the crap out of it. Check the before pic. Count everything hideous in the picture and we'll see if our numbers match.



1) light fixture
2) wall paper trim above cabinets
3) cabinets covered in laminate that isn't even trying really hard to look like real wood
4) countertop microwave
5) mismatched appliances
6) busted looking faucet
7) oven is killing me
8) ratty bar chair...also killing me
9) laminated countertop

Here is the glorious 'after':



1) dumped that dome light fixture
2) ditched the wallpaper
3) real wood cabinets, extra tall
4) over the oven microwave
5) new flat top stove in white like the other appliances
6) pendant lights over bar
7) wait, did you say bar? Yes, we now have a bar!!
8) granite
9) more counterspace (reconfigured cabinets)
10) sweet new handles
11) sink & faucet upgrade
12) backsplash that is to die for
13) mood lighting. Say what?

Yup!



And for the final side-by-side:

What's not to love...

What's not to love about the turkey cake? It has everything you need: Layers of ground turkey & stuffing, surrounded by mashed potato frosting and topped with sweet potatoes & marshmallows. Three words for you: Sign. Me. Up!




What's not to love about the meatloaf cake? Meatloaf layers, ketchup filling & mashed potato frosting. Check, check & check!



I would eat either of these. Does this make me gross? Maybe.

Does I lose all credibility when it comes to posting recipes? Most likely.

(photos found on www.geekologie.com)

Christmas Tag

Die: Sizzix Christmas tree
Paper: DCWV
Flowers: Prima

Thanksgiving Card to share

I LOVE this little Riley moose stamp!





Paper: Don't remember.
Stamps: Riley and Co., Stampin' Up
Dies: Nestabilities Oval & Scalloped Oval

Quick Cards!

I came home from work and had about 2 hours without baby or hubby and, while I could have done laundry or some other miserable task, I chose to get crafty!!!

Digging through my vast array of embellishments, I found some stickers that would look great as focal points for simple cards. Stamps used are Stampin' Up.

Christmas Gift Tag Set

I made these as a contest entry. I didn't win the top prize but I believe I was 1 of 20 honorable mention winners. Fine by me!





These were 90% made with my Cricut machine: the images, the ovals, even the envelopes. All were chalked or colored and covered with Ranger's glossy accents. The background was stamped with a music stamp (Hero Arts, I think) and the holly leaves were made with a punch and covered with Stickles.

Who doesn't love a MASSIVE giveaway???!!!

I know I do! I found this glorious post while searching for clever things to make with my cricut machine. Usually when I find the primo giveaway it's always AFTER the deadline and a winner has been drawn. Well, not so this time.

If you'd like a chance at winning an entire collection of Promarkers (that's 148 markers, people!!! A value of $330!) then click on over to Goin' Buggy and leave a comment. The drawing will be held on November 14th and the winner's name posted on the 15th.

Promarkers are (from what I can tell) the UK version of Copics. And I know how you love your Copics. So for the next 2 weeks, Enfys will be posting videos on how to use Promarkers. And her accent makes for great listening.

Hot Diggity!

Did you all remember to register your Gypsy machine so you could get the 6 free cartridges that are available starting yesterday??? I did. Woot!

The process was a little more elaborate than I had expected. Apparently they changed the GypsySync software to CricutSync. Which makes total sense: I'm guessing it will allow Provocraft to roll out updates for all their products rather than having different software for the Gypsy, Imagine, etc.

So I needed to uninstall GypsySync before I could proceed with installing the CricutSync and begin the upgrades. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but when I scrolled through my Loaded Cartridges and saw Tags, Bags, Boxes & More...instant happies in my heart.

Here are the 6 free cartridges:

~ Blackletter
~ Christmas
~ Indie Art
~ Printing Press
~ Smiley Cards (exclusive to this promotion)
~ Tags, Bags, Boxes & More

F is for Fall

This was made with the idea that you could use it as home decor or as a (rather large 8") embellishment on a scrapbook page. I sold it to someone on ebay so I have no idea what they used it for.

Enjoy!



The background paper and flourish stamp is Stampin' Up.

Awe, sweet smooches from my honey!

Halloween Layout

Back in the day, I tried my hand at selling handmade paper crafts. I had little success. I say 'little' success because, although my pieces did sell, they didn't sell for very much. And I didn't have time to invest more effort in attracting high dollar bids so I threw in the towel.

Over the next few weeks I'll be trotting out my seasonal creations for you to enjoy!

First up, a halloween layout with a not-too-spooky kitty. The huge "S" is an 8" chipboard letter covered with paper and embellished. The kitty was my very first attempt at creating a paper pieced version of a image from a magazine. It took for-EVER to finish but I think she turned out really cute.





The pumpkins are oval punches that are layered. The word "spooky" is cut from Sizzix alpha dies. The spider is a Sizzix die. The flourish, spider web, and bat are all stamps from Inque Boutique. The pumpkin leaves and flowers are Prima. "Sweet" is cut with a Coluzzle template. This was made pre-Cricut machine. I'll never use the coluzzle templates again....Cricut has made so many things way easier.

Nestie Dies - Storage Solution

I used to think I had the perfect storage solution for my dies. But after implementing 2 rounds of ideas, I'm still looking for that perfect method.

Here is the first method I used. It worked until Wizard came out with dies that were bigger than the CD case (Label 8.) FAIL.

[INSERT PICTURE]

Here is the second method...8.5 x 11 magnetic sheets put into page protectors in a 3-ring binder. It worked until I went to flip through the pages and saw that the weakness of the magnetic sheet made my dies come loose. Plus, the weight of the sheets and the dies proved too massive for the flimsy page protectors. Grrrr! FAIL.

[INSERT PICTURE]


I need to figure out a system that:
~ Has a variety of pocket sizes to hold each set individually.
~ Is sturdy.
~ Works in a 3-ring binder.
~ Uses magnetic sheets to hold the dies and can be removed from binder when in use.

I'm looking at this tutorial by Dawn McVey and it has me thinking.....

These Recipes are a 'Must-Make'

Just how adorable is any food made on a mini scale? It's so adorable that a disclaimer should go on every photo of mini food.

"Caution - extreme adorableness may cause your head to pop off. This could be hazardous to your health."

Well you can blame thank Naomi of Bakers Royale for the below photo and how-to, resulting in much head poppage.



Ever wonder what Autumn-on-a-fork tastes like? I bet it tastes like this Pumpkin Spice Bread, courtesy of Sarah from Create Studio. And by the looks of the recipe, I bet it is pretty easy to make too. Double bonus!



Finally, these Butternut Squash muffins from Prudent Baby look not only delicious, but are a great way to get those squashes you bought to decorate your countertops out of the bowl and into the oven.



Happy eats!!!